08/31/21 damn August is done

 

what the heck, August is done.  seriously where does the time go.  I know I'm busy but August is my "recharge the batteries" month and I had one day with no commitments.  one day.  

I erased the calendar and started populating the September one -- it's not looking much better -- even if I tried to schedule a no event day someone would just "have" to see me.  that was the last phone "I just have to talk to you" .. about drainage ditches -- freeking water movement.  

I need to focus on the positive -- so what happened in August.

1.  I've hauled 5 loads of weeds to the dump site.

2.  the lawn got mowed a couple of times 

3.  the cabin is clean

4.  the home basement got a good cleaning 

5.  I did some mending ( my sewing machine still works)

6.  kept up with the endless laundry

( most of it is mine, not sure why I'm whining)

7.  got to the fair

8.  hiked Nerstrand ( that might have been July)

9.  the purge project is moving forward

10.  a long weekend is ahead of us.

08/28/21 Hope

this lonely sunflower has persevered thru a lot of challenges .. it is the only one that survived -- there was a 25 foot row .... and it thrived!  The the deer thought its lower leaves were tasty ... then we've had a week a weird weather -- wind, rain, hail ( sometimes all at the same time) .. all while she was trying to bloom .. well, she bloomed and she's pretty special and she's 7' tall !

I named her Hope -- thru the last 18 months of chaos a little hope goes a long way ... every challenge has hope 

 

08/27/21 T G I F

 

my desk is almost this bad
today's goal

tidy!

an inch of rain in the rain gauge this morning -- I got up at 3:30 and re-attached the downspout extender to the gutter gizmo ... it was overtopping the gutter ( must be plugged ) and landing on the extender .. that irritating pounding noise of liquid hitting a metal surface -- argh ... even with the windows shut it was bad  -- wide awake until the alarm went off  :)  

so cleaning is on the agenda

Mom's birthday -- 81 today -- hoping to do lunch IN A RESTAURANT !!!!   I actually had lunch in a restaurant yesterday too !   TWO days in a row.  

Jean's birthday tomorrow -- 59 ... 

The weather is looking weird for the rest of the day and tomorrow -- post bridal shower on Sunday will need to spend some time at the happy place .. now that it has rained -- we can work on some more landscaping projects ... 

08/25/21 speechless

this is my life cycle this summer ...

carefully balancing all the activities

and not very well

arguing with idiots

idiots at all levels of goverment

and flitting from project to project

getting no where fast ...

It is hump day -- which is also project day -- and a beautiful day it is ... spent my morning visiting with an elderly client trying to make decisions - and balance decisions

Monday night I was here until 8:30 ( thank you Domino's delivery) 

Tuesday night it was 7:30 .. ( leftover Domino's) 

Tonight I'm hoping to leave earlier

I'm sorting thru boxes of well, shit that needs to be tossed

staring out the window at a tree across the street that is turning yellow (argh)

whining about the general state of life - 'cause I'm really good at that

and not getting any productive work actually completed

this needs to change.

rain is in the forecast

the new William Kent Krueger book was just delivered to my iPad

there's TV at the happy place now ... or streaming tv ..

there is a recliner out there (grinning)

it is my life

 

08/22/21 W O T D

 and today’s word is 

Beach

08/21/21 W O T D

  and today's word of the day 

BREEZY

It's windy at the happy place today -- like a cold breeze.  I'm sitting here in long pants, fleece sweatshirt and a blanket on my lap.  The sun has arrived so it will be much better ... soon.  I've even resorted to wearing socks with my crocs.  

I was a productive diva when I finally bailed from the office and went home.  Three bags of trash from the home office and the sewing room.  All of the accumulation in the sewing room has been put in the proper shelf :) .. the scrap bin ( or one of them ) sorted -- purged.  This morning I spent an hour with the vacuum cleaner down there and it looks good.  Spiffy good.  

The tidying continued upstairs in the bedroom ... my bookcases are in a sad state of messy.  Will finish them this evening -- if I don't stay out here.  We received 3/10 of an inch of rain.  Not enough.  I did bring a sewing project with me -- a slash/dash nine patch and some office homework.  I believe I'm headed back to my chair and book.  

I might have to go to the office and work on the garage -- haul some weeds ... plant some plants .. find a cleaning lady ... 

08/20/21 W O T D

 today's word of the day

DISAPPOINTMENT

poooffff ... went the vacation to Texas in September -- outing cancelled .. or re-scheduled to spring and well, I don't get to do spring events.  damn.  I was looking forward to hanging out with Chip & Joanna Gaines and visiting the Pioneer Woman's digs.  damn damn damn  

swearing doesn't help.

08/19/21 W O T D

   and today's word of the day

B A K E

I got up at the crack of darkness -- 4:30 ... I keep falling asleep to early .. and well, I was at the office by 5:30 .. after a spot of bedroom tidying, a load of laundry and a shower .. #1 was up too .. he had retrieved the paper and let Tommy, the kitten in the house.  that little dude was full of energy at 5:30 am.

I digress -- I've been watching the Great British Baking show on Netflix .. dang BAKE!

08/18/21 W O T D

 must be time to play a little Word of the Day again ...

EDUCATE -- learn new things every day

   My challenge this summer is to embrace technology in new ways -- make that technology work for me instead of me work for it ( insert grin ).

   so I've spent some time learning MS OneNote ... and I'm learning to use it more, we're starting to populate our new document management software - nothing plays well with our main software vendor Thomsen Reuters -- so we're learning to be smart.

   professional development is part of the pandemic buzzwords -- the QCD ( quality control document ) that is supposed to rule accounting firms is getting an update ... lots of typing on that one.  I've been enjoying some continuing education moments that are outside the normal "learn it and use it" gigs.

8/14/21 ahhhhh. Pix heavy

 

edit: I plopped these up here Saturday night from my iPad -- I've mastered airdropping pic's from my phone to the iPad .. soo

the swimmers have started to hang out a bit to the left of the floating dock ... Friday night and Saturday night a flotilla of pontoon's we can hear the laughter

sunset - Saturday night ... it was calm and nice

Jake likes the pontoon ... this is is "Rose" pose from Titanic -- except one ear wasn't cooperating

first cruise on the pontoon

after sunset

Jake and Lee bring the pontoon over from the landing

it's a perfect spot 

08/12/21 Hump Day

so this dude was looking at me when I was parking the ATV last night 

"how much wood can a woodchuck chuck" .. hmmm

so ...

Monday morning I had a 4 hour conference -- Farm Tax Issues

Tuesday morning I ... 

Met with Admin/Public Health - Covid Issues

was the Acting Board Chair for the meeting

during the break -- dialed up my 2nd day of Farm Seminar 

(on my phone and watched for an hour)

Back to the office at 10:15 and finished the 2nd day of Farm Seminar

back to Gov't Center for Transit gig at 2:00 .. 

home by 7:00 -- 

then I took an ATV garbage run and ride

it was a nice night on the prairie 

 

08/09/21

 balancing on the struggle bus again today ....
a) it's Monday
b) the weather is weird
c) it's Monday
d) started the day with a seminar

I didn't sleep well either -- and I was crabby yesterday ... 18 months of togetherness during a pandemic is starting to drive me nuts - sneaking away seems to be impossible -- and hiding out in the basement doing laundry may be productive but it is not a large enough separation.  

complaining does not help

mind games are next

08/07/21 oh where the bison nap

 

we ( Mom and I ) took a drive to the bison range -- it's been a long time since we've been there -- first time since late fall -- the bison were literally inside the gate -- napping next to the fence 

a baby bison!

it must have been a rough week for them too 

the flies had to be horrid -- the ears and tails were constantly twitching

humidity was a killer too 

If I had editing skills I'd edit out the giant weed ... 

it's pretty green down there considering our lack of rain

I got up to rain so I went to work -- after the lawn mowing saga yesterday .. I needed to clean off my desk and organize my thoughts for the upcoming week .. it's going to be a weird one -- Monday and Tuesday mornings I have a seminar -- County commitments and it's the fair -- need my annual trip to the dairy barn for a strawberry shake ..

08/06/21 oh happy afternoon

I had a farm girl moment and used skills to get the lawnmower started. Remove air cleaner, pour gas directly into carburetor and kick it.  Worked.  Mowed off more weeds.  Time for chemicals.

pre mowing is in the previous post -- the weeds were taller than the grass -- I've got a pretty good crop of weeds in the grass -- next week is the parking lot fence.  

A yardstick from the 100th anniversary of the Nicollet County fair. Came with the house 🙂.  The 150th fair is next week. My 11 year old self never dreamed my 61 year old self would be going to the 150th fair.  I've missed many over the decades.  4H has changed a lot since the 70's

 

Evidently I took this picture with the iPad, last Sunday at the happy place.  Kind of sums up life at the lake.  Feet up, sitting in the shade -- Jake, the dog, happy on the dock, Lee messing with the lift -- always messing with the lift.  How about those burgundy sandals, Birkenstock knock offs from Kohls .. kind of fun ... 

08/06/21 musings

I think I know how this rodent feels -- just struggling to get things done this week -- by things, I am referring to the things that clients actually pay us to do ... some of the other projects actually got finished.  Sort of.  I've said it before and I state it often -- we're all tired -- tired of pandemic, tired of working during a pandemic and tired of being around each other ALL THE TIME.  

I had a road trip to the Gaylord yesterday -- and was back in office by 3:15ish .. watershed planning group ... managed to do nothing significant and left at 4 -- got home and other than turn the roomba on in my bedroom, surf the internet and do 3 loads of laundry -- did nothing -- I've even lost my mojo for a good book -- ( that is bad - really bad ).  

I need to get back on track -- and it starts with me.  Recharge the batteries -- have some fun ? sew something ( because looking at the expensive stash of fabric isn't fun either ) -- 

So, I'm going to quit typing and attempt to solve the worlds problems and get my shit together.  

 

08/04/21 weeds and such

the weed patches at the office have been somewhat defoliated ... I started Sunday morning, did a load Monday night and again last night -- 4 pickup truck loads .. you can see some of the perennials .. some  -- the beds were started when the large maple tree was still alive.  the lawn mower died -- and elder #1 has been ill so .. I haven't told him it needs fixing -- the plan is a new one from Fleet Farm...

Saturday night boat cruise -- nice night to be on the water

another shot of the weed project

next up is the parking lot weeds/trees/damn Virginia creeper ... that shit is everywhere on the block ..

I will admit -- weed chopping assists with stress

sweating instead of eating while stressed is a good thing

this weeks progress report includes:

1.    getting the faucet in the kitchen replaced ( no more drippy's)

2.    adding the new document mgmt software to the green room computer

3.    downloading 2014 data to green room computer and deleting off the vpn

4.    started the file room purge .. down 3 boxes already

5.    walking 8,000 steps a day -- weeds pulling is step intensive

6.    new monitor added to front computer -- 

7.    mom's shoes ordered

I have a really bad case of the I don't want to work anymore this week and well, I need to work more this week.